GRAFFITI-TAGGING CREW MEMBER SENTENCED TO 16 YEARS TO LIFE FOR STABBING-MURDER OF 12-YEAR-OLD BOY

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A graffiti-tagging crew member was sentenced to 16 years to life in state prison today for the stabbing-murder of a 12-year-old boy who was walking home from school.

Defendant

Charges

Sentence

Bryan Ocampo, 24, Anaheim

Found guilty by a jury on Dec. 19, 2016, of:

One felony count of second-degree murder

Sentencing Enhancement:

Personal use of a knife

16 years to life in state prison

Ordered to pay restitution

Circumstances of the Case

At the time of the crime, Ocampo was an 18-year-old member of a graffiti-tagging crew.

On the afternoon of June 13, 2011, the victim, 12-year-old Juan Martinez, was walking home from Sycamore Junior High School on La Palma Avenue in Anaheim, where he was a student.

Ocampo walked up to the victim and engaged in a physical altercation with him.

The defendant pulled out a knife that was concealed on his personand stabbed Martinez in the abdomen two times and once in the chest.

The victim ran away from Ocampo and collapsed due to his injuries.

Anaheim Police Department (APD) officers arrived at the scene and found the victim in the parking lot of an apartment complex.

Martinez was transported to University of California, Irvine Medical Center in Orange, where he died as a result of the stab wounds.

Witnesses at the scene identified Ocampo, who was arrested later that night by APD.

During the sentencing today, the victim’s sisters, Jackie P. and Lidia P., were present and delivered victim impact statements.

Lidia P. said in part, “All we have are memories of his smile. We will forever be broken over the loss of our little brother.” Jackie P. said in part, “My brother never got a chance to go to 8th grade, to high school, to get his driver’s license or go to prom. I have an emptiness in my heart.”